The Intrigue of Death through Ossuaries

An ossuary is a space designed to be the final resting place for post-burial skeletal remains. It was most commonly used as a practice due to overcrowding on cemetery grounds thus excavating the previously buried and transferring them to the ossuary helped condense the bodies and expand spaces available. Sizes of the space can range from boxes to buildings and can be seen all throughout the world. What really catches peoples attentions about ossuaries are the architectural arrangements in most, it is a shock factor to see a wall lined with skeletal heads, or in the Sedlec ossuary a magnificent chandelier made from the bones of hundreds of people.  Death has been transformed into an art form, the human skeleton has transcended its meaning has being the basis of a body and now visually takes on another meaning. Ossuaries have drawn so much attention that countries with prominent ossuaries have industrialized seeing the dead and it thrives as being a tourist attraction. Why does death attract so many people? Why are humans so intrigued by the human skeleton and what can we interpret about these interaction with these spaces?

            Death is on display and has the eyes of thousands of people on it every day.  This blog explores two different ossuaries spaces: Sedlec Ossuary and the Talpiot tombs.  The ossuaries that will be talked about through this blog all have religious connections, where it be a church or have supposed connection to Jesus which definitely has effect on their intrigue. The display and practice of human remains after-death has been intrinsically connected to religious beliefs of some sort. In early European Christian context there was a moral and spiritual connection with the skeleton and which it operated as a ‘momento mori’ (Hallam 475). Yet what other factor does viewing death draw a person in, we all should be relatively aware of what the skeletal body looks like yet its eerie presence and confirmation that after death we are all doomed to be nothing but bones. Why are people so intrigued? In an answer to such questions I believe that the imagery of a skeleton has a strong connection as a reminder of the inevitable, but also brings a sense of connectivity that we are all one. The transience of life is projected and timelessly so through these constructions.

Bones are the architecture of the human body and have been transformed to being an architectural foundation for an out-of-body material construction. In looking at the concept of the rites of passage, a body is first separated from the community and buried after death, it then has to go through transition of being exhumed and cleansed of the remaining flesh and materials the body was buried with to be reincorporated into the realm of the ossuary where it takes on a new identity. Through the exhumation the body still has connection to a human, a familial connection that with that brings grief and connection with the living, in some ossuaries this connection has been kept alive with marking the bones in some sort, be it engraving or painting to personalize the now unrecognizable.  As will be discussed the Talpiot tombs did have some engravings on the containers yet none on the bones themselves and neither did the Sedlec. The Sedlec goes to almost the opposite spectrum of being unable to identify or connect on a personified sense due to its intrinsic usage of bones. The way people now are able to look and attempt to articulate the physical construction of skeletal remains emotionally is all relative to how they are designed.

The designs of ossuaries as visual stimuli effect the emotional response of the on-lookers, even without ancestral connectivity there is a connection between the dead and the living that does bring on a feeling of fear and sadness. Elizabeth Hallam in her essay, Articulating bones: an epilogue, she is quoted saying bones This labour with bones “produced tangible, embodied emotions made all the more powerful by the sense of ‘shared substance’ with the deceased formed through blood ties and nurturing” (Hallam 479). When the designs are so complex like those in the Sedlec, it is hard for the eye to articulate something that is so familiar yet transformed and separated into the strange entities. The way the bones are condensed together, taking hundreds of different people’s bones and groupings a display accordingly, makes the naked eye articulate the imagery differently. In some ossuaries the skeletal body is remained intact, to encompass the anatomical skeletal arrangement, which allows the viewer to gain more of an eerie understanding and connection. The bones of humans, which are regularly seen as connected to a person is now materialized into designs that portray household items. The attempt to comprehend the almost beauty of craftsmanship to the relation of a human being is drawing emotional experience that I feel is one of the main reasons that bring such tourist and social attraction. 

Talpiot Tomb: The True Tomb of Jesus Christ?

For centuries, the greatest theological debate has stemmed from the potential existence of one man: Jesus Christ. His existence has sparked both individual curiosity and academic analysis, on an international and interreligious level. Perhaps the greatest discovery relating to the life of Jesus Christ happened in 1980, when a salvage excavation in Jerusalem disturbed a tomb of ten ossuaries (Rollston, 2006). It was only after the inscriptions on six of the ossuaries were revealed that the tomb was referred to as the “Jesus tomb” or the “Talpiot Tomb”, when the connection to Jesus was apparent (Rollston, 2006). An archaeological discovery like this had extreme ramifications for both the religious and non-religious worlds: because of the scope of the Talpiot Tomb's global importance, the haste began to establish, once and for all, the true history of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Shimon Gibson, a renown archaeologist and professor, describes approaching the exposed tomb in 1980:

“It was hewn from gleaming white limestone and there were chisel marks cut diagonally across the entrance that were set off by the orange staining derived from the soil fills removed by bulldozers. Above the doorway were two simple raised carvings of a circle and a pointed triangle”(Gibson 2006).

Continuing in his article “Is the Talpiot Tomb Really the Family Tomb of Jesus”, Gibson describes how the entrance to the tomb had no blocking stone, causing half a metre of soil to settle in the inner chamber. Because the tomb was unsealed, this allows for the possibility that the tomb had been previously entered. Even after the tomb had been discovered, there were reports of local children playing with the discovered bones; some even witnessed the children playing soccer with a skull (Gibson, 2006). This probability of easy grave theft greatly questions the assumption that the tomb could have remained untouched for close to 2000 years, and still serve as evidence of the life of Jesus and his family. In an archaeological context, the Talpiot Tomb was discovered at quite a late point in history, meaning the tomb was unprotected and unstudied for an incredibly long period of time.

Dr James Tabor, one of the few to study the tomb in 1980 after its original discovery, continues to write on the tomb found in Jerusalem decades after its initial discovery. The first controversy surrounding the Talpiot Tomb started in 1996, with the BBC documentary “The Body in Question” (Tabor, 2007), when it was revealed to the public the six ossuaries were inscribed with “Jesus son of Joseph, two Marys, a Joseph, a Matthew, and a Jude son of Jesus” (Tabor, 2007). However, many have contested whether these are accurate translations, or if the inscriptions are authentic themselves. Indisputably, in 1980 when the tomb was opened, there were ten ossuaries within, six of which bore inscriptions (Tabor, 2007). It is now 34 years since the tomb was discovered, and there has not been a conclusion regarding the authenticity of the ossuaries that can be decided upon.

Excitement and debate rose again in when another significant ossuary entered the public spotlight, owned by Oden Galden: “A First Century CE ossuary belonging to a private collector, bearing engraved Aramaic inscription 'Ya'akov bar Yosef achui de Yeshua' (James son of Joseph his brother of Jesus), has been attributed to James, Jesus' brother, first head of the Jerusalem church”(Ayalon et al., 2004). Scientists leapt at the opportunity to date the ossuary, and as published in the Archaeological Journal of Science, the analysis was completed with the final conclusion: “The patina was most likely artificially formed from powdered chalk immersed in hot water” (Ayalon et al., 2004), patina referring to the tarnish formed on surfaces by oxidation (Oxford Reference Dictionary). Many different conclusions have been drawn, but for the most part specialists will agree that the ossuary holds no absolutely definitive evidence.

Opponents to the verifiability of the Tomb's authenticity have argued further evidence, that “one should note that of the six inscribed ossuaries, there are just two personal names with patronymics ... [but] no matronymics” (Rollston, 2006). I can understand that burials occurring at different times could have resulted in different burial practices, so this argument does not fully convince me of forgery. However, it seems each piece of evidence found to support the existence of the family of Jesus has a countering piece of evidence, and vice versa. Because of this, I believe the debate of Jesus Christ's existence will continue on both sides, regardless of artifacts discovered in the future. I therefore do not draw any personal conclusions about the true nature of the Talpiot Tomb, but recognize its significance in Christian history will always be undeniable.

Talpiot Pictures

Jewish Ossuaries and the Talpiot Tombs

The Talpiot Tomb is significant because of its associations with biblical archaeology.  The tomb was excavated in spring of 1980 on a westward-facing slope of a hill, in the area of East Talpiot, two km. south of ancient Jerusalem (Gibson). In the first century CE, a common Jewish burial practice involved a cave or tomb cut into a rock.  Each tomb had chambers surrounded by rows of loculi, which are burial compartments the length of a body. Shrouded bodies were placed in the tomb and left to decompose for one year, then would later be gathered and put into ossuaries to be reburied. Ossuaries of this kind were only in use for approximately a hundred years.  This type of burial was reserved for wealthy families, and each tomb belonged to an extended family where the dead would be buried over several generations. Often, more than one person was buried inside the ossuary box, which complicated the identification process; furthermore, only a quarter of the time are names inscribed on the box.  In the case of the Talpiot Tomb, ten ossuaries are found, but only six inscriptions have been identified (Gibson).

1.                          “Mariamenou Mara”. This is a Greek inscription; “Mara” means honorable lady, although the corrected term for honorable lady should be Martha, a title given to the Virgin Mary and female saints. It has been suggested that Mariamne was a name for Mary Magdalene, which is based on the readings in the Acts of Philip, dating to the 4^th century CE. The only other reference is in the writings of Hippolytus from the 2^nd century CE.

2.                                “Yehuda Bar Yeshua”. This is written in Hebrew script; Yehuda meaning Judas and Yeshua meaning Jesus. Both were popular named in 1^st century Jerusalem.

3.                                     “Matya” and “Mata”.  This is again written in Hebrew script and both names are contractions of the name Matutyahu, meaning Matthew.

4.                                        “Yeshua son of Yehoset”. Written in Hebrew script.

5.                            “Yose”. Written in Hebrew script, meaning Joseph. Joseph was also a popular name in the 1^st century CE.

6.                                      “Marya”. Hebrew script.

These names are suggestive of the biblical family of Jesus, however, they could simply be a group of ossuaries bearing common Jewish names from the 1^st century CE. Gibson suggests that it is conceivable that the family tomb of Jesus would be situated within the vicinity of Jerusalem, since it was customary of Jewish burials to be placed near where they lived. The Gospel tells us that Jesus’ brothers, notably James, died in Jerusalem, and this is also where Jesus was last physically seen. The Talpiot Tomb is not within the vicinity of Jerusalem (Gibson 126).

Christopher A. Rollston makes another argument against the inscriptions on the ossuaries. Of the six inscribed names, there is no mention of martial status, or fraternal or sororal relationships, and without such data, it is impossible to determine kinship relationships (127).  These rock-cut tombs were family tombs, but to assume that it was a nuclear family without clear evidence is problematic.

The ossuaries that come from the Jewish context are not the same kind that we see in the massive Christian cathedrals or even in Italian catacombs; these kinds refer to containers that collected the decomposed remains of an individual and placed within a rock-cut tomb (Magness 121). They first appear around 20-15 BCE, and disappear from use after 70CE (Magness 129). They can be plain or decorated, often with incised designs and painting.  Most inscriptions say only the name of the individual in Aramaic, Hebrew or Greek. The significance of ossuary use comes from the Jewish belief of physical resurrection. Before ossuaries were in use, bodies were placed in pits or repositories, and they were susceptible to separation or damage. The ossuaries keep the remains in one place, so that when the individual resurrected, they would be restored to life with all their body parts (Magness 131).  Scholars have argued this interpretation however, on the basis that more than one body was often placed inside an ossuary. The practice of recording names on ossuaries can reflect the concern for recording and preserving the memory of the deceased (Magness 136). Here we see a difference between Jewish ossuaries and Christian ossuaries. The ossuaries you see in Christian churches exhibit bones architecturally, and rarely do you see any record of which bone belongs to which individual. The body parts of one individual are also sometimes not kept together. For example, you may see rows upon rows of skulls, with the rest of the body placed elsewhere. This is a direct dissimilarity to Jewish ossuaries, and their belief in keeping the bones together for the sake of resurrection.

The use of rock-cut tombs vs. pit dug graves correlated with the economy of the family. Jodi Magness’ interpretation of Jesus’ tomb is as follows:

            "Jesus came from a family of modest means that presumably did not own a rock-cut

Tomb. Because Jesus died and was removed from the cross on the eve of the Sabbath, there was no time to dig a trench grave for him. For this reason, Jesus’ body was placed in the rock-cut family tomb of a wealthy follower (named Joseph of Arimathea)" (122).

Joseph of Arimathea was not part of Jesus’ family, but had offered a spot in his tomb because there was no time to prepare a grave for Jesus. Therefore, this is not Jesus’ family in the tomb (Magness 147). We could assume that the family of Jesus was buried together, except for the fact that they were probably of modest means, and could not have afforded a family rock-cut tomb. Therefore, the Talpiot Tomb is probably not the family tomb of Jesus.

The Talpiot Tomb is an example of how Jewish ossuaries differ from Christian ossuaries. They are boxes in which the remains of one or more individuals are kept, instead of being put on display as they are in the Christian context. Many have speculated that the Talpiot Tomb is the family tomb of Jesus, based on the inscribed ossuaries, but many scholars have agreed that the evidence to back up this theory is insufficient.  Regardless of the biblical connotations, the Talpiot Tomb is an example of Jewish burial practices and their use of ossuaries in the first century CE.

Talpiot Pictures

http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/“behold-lamb-god”-easter-celebration/12-jesus-and-ossuaries-first-century-jewish-burial-pra

http://thejesusdiscovery.org

Sedlec Ossuary

Sedlec Church is a small Roman Catholic chapel located in Sedlec, a suburb in the city of Kutna Hora in Czech Republic.  This chapel has a few names such as Sedlec Ossuary, The Church of Bones or Bone Church, named after the awe-inspiring architecture found inside what appears to be an ordinary church.  Sedlec Ossuary is ornately decorated with between 40,000 and 70,000 human skeletons (“The Church of Bones”). The walls, ceiling and floors are decorated with bones; the most fascinating piece being the chandelier that includes at least one of every bone from the human body.  Another extremely unique piece of work includes the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family that is also made from human bones (“The Church of Bones”).

                Sedlec used to be part of Bohemia, and in 1278 the King of Bohemia sent the abbot of the Sedlec Monastery to Jerusalem.  Here he collected some soil from Golgotha, known as “Holy soil”, and brought it back to Sedlec to be spread across the cemetery located just outside of the church (“The Church of Bones”).  This was such an attraction that soon the cemetery had to be expanded, and in the 15^th century a gothic church was built and an ossuary was created in the basement.  Eventually the graves were exhumed, and the bones were kept in the ossuary until 1870 when a woodcarver by the name of Frantisek Rint was hired to display the bones.  The result was what we see today, an impressive display in the Church of Bones. 

                The Schwarzenberg family, whose coat of arms can be seen in the Sedlec Ossuary, are the ones who hired Frantisek Rint to organize the bones.  This is a unique piece of art, with many exciting details on it.  Adolf zu Schwarzenberg modified the coat of arms after the conquest of Raab from the Turks to include the head of a Turk, with his eyes being pecked out by a raven (Hamad).  According to some sources, the Schwarzenberg family had a hatred for Muslims, and it was rumored that some of the bones used to create the coat of arms were those of murdered Muslims (Windsor Star).  This is represented on the bottom corner of the coat of arms, with a skull representing the Turk, and a raven impressively made out of bones, pecking his eyes out.  The Schwarzenberg family is a prominent name in Czech Republic even today and is recognized as one of the oldest and wealthiest family names in Europe; being traced back through the centuries to 1172 (Hamad).  The famous Schwarzenberg coat of arms has historical value and importance and is an important part of the Sedlec Ossuary.  It is recognized and appreciated by many tourists, and can be admired for its ornate detailing. 

                These displays of bones have been very controversial over the centuries, as well as a large tourist attraction.  The concept of decorating a church with human skeletons is either very interesting or very grotesque, but nonetheless attracts the attention of many curious visitors. This type of decorative ossuary is not just prominent in Czech Republic, but can also be seen in various places across Europe.  Some more famous ossuaries include Santa Maria della Concezione in Rome, Capela dos Ossos, in Portugal and Chapel of Skulls in Czermna, Poland.  These are just a few examples of the ossuaries that were constructed around the same time.  With growing populations and the spread of diseases, ossuaries became more prominent due to lack of space.   During the Black Death in the mid-14th century, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century in Bohemia, many thousands of people were in need of cemeteries, and so something had to be done (Connolly 46). After the bones had been exhumed, it was common for them to be stored in piles in these ossuaries until someone had the time and the money to put them on decorative displays. 

                Ossuaries have raised much controversy, with people continuously questioning the decision to put human remains on display.  Questions have been raised such as would the dead really approve being put on display if they had a choice before dying, and they are very valid.  How would the dead have felt about this if they knew beforehand what was going to happen to them?  Why did the Schwarzenbergs commission this display of bones? How would the dead feel about contributing a part of their body to an important family’s coat of arms?

Sedlec Pictures

(pics from "The Church of Bones." Sedlec Ossuary. SedlecOssuary.com. Web. 25 Mar 2014. <website http://www.sedlecossuary.com>.)